EXCLUSIVISM AND HELLENISMOS

Exclusivism (exclusivity) is a
scholastic term which can be applied to any belief system but in this essay we
will restrict its use as to how it applies to religion. Exclusivism, in this
case, is the belief that one's own religion is absolute and correct, while all
others are false. Such religions claim to have exclusive knowledge and the sole
means of access to divinity, so they exclude
themselves from all other belief-systems and deny them any validity.
Exclusivism can have poisonous results, as can be clearly seen in history, when
such a religion attains political and military power and prohibits all other
religions and philosophies. The suppression of freedom of thought has
unfortunate effects on the development of science and philosophy. Because the
believer in an exclusivistic religion is certain of the validity of his or her
beliefs, there have been instances of forced conversion to the exclusive
religion. It is well worth considering that millions of people in the modern
world fiercely declare and defend religious beliefs that their ancestors were
actually forced to accept.

Exclusive religions tend to swallow
up other religions over time. In terms of mathematics, if an individual comes
from a tolerant tradition and adopts a new religious tradition which is also
tolerant, this does not change the status quo, but if an individual
from an inclusive tradition converts to an exclusivistic tradition, mathematics
set in and the tolerant group loses one number while the exclusive gains one
number, and this tendency of exclusivistic groups to grow in numbers vs
inclusive groups, builds momentum over time, with the tolerant group slowly
losing numbers.

Exclusivism in Judaism

Generally, it is the monotheistic religions, Christianity and Islam,
which are associated with the problems of exclusivism, but not Judaism, the
religion from which these two arose. There is, however, one recorded incident
of forced conversion executed by the Jewish Maccabean military leader, (John)
Hyrcanus, during the second century BCE, who imposed Judaism after his
conquests of the Idumeans, but this was quite the exception. The Jewish
religion is exclusivistic, but they generally are not evangelical or known to
force their religion on others; on the contrary, they believe that they enjoy a
very private covenant or contract with their one God.

Exclusivism in Christianity

Christianity is another matter
entirely, a religion which is clearly evangelical. The insistence on orthodoxy
of belief in Christianity, exclusivism within Christianity
itself, was solidified with the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, which had the
effect of creating heretics. The word for heresy in ancient Greek is airæsis (airesis;
Gr. αἵρεσις), which means "choice," but the word came to denote any
belief which deviates from orthodox Christian doctrine...to choose wrong
beliefs...meaning that in an exclusive religion, one does not have choice in
belief if one is to be among the blessed or saved. If one chooses to accept a
"wrong" belief, one is expelled, for which they use the Greek term anáthæma (anathema;
Gr. ἀνάθεμα [1]), cursed by God and excommunicated from the true believers.
In the past, heretics were sometimes exterminated in cruel and unusual ways for
clinging to these “wrong” beliefs. The exclusivity of Christianity assumed a
monstrous and lasting form with the edicts of the Roman emperor Theodosius I,
beginning in 381 CE, which forbade, under penalty of death, the practice of the
ancient religions. Eventually, Dælphí (Delphi; Gr. Δελφοί), the very center and
heart of the ancient Greek religion was closed. Ælefsís (Eleusis; Gr. Ἐλευσίς),
the principal Mystery cult of the ancient world, was shut down after more than
2,000 years of practice. Indeed, all the sanctuaries and temples of the ancient
religions were forcibly closed. Christianity became the official religion under
this emperor. The only other religious practice tolerated was that of Judaism,
out of respect for the source of the Christian religion, since Jesus himself
was a Jew, but even the Jews were marginalized and persecuted. The old
religions were restricted to inaccessible areas or forced into secrecy
underground. This situation in the West was not alleviated for many centuries
and in some areas of the modern world there remains problems for those who are
not Christian.

Exclusivity in Islam

Islam has a
tradition of tolerance, particularly towards Judaic religions, going back to
the prophet Mohammed, who was undoubtedly sincere. In practice,
however, his descendants have carried out the opposite. This can be
demonstrated in numerous instances, such as in India when Muslim military
forces encountered Buddhists, who practiced non-violence. The end result was
that Buddhism virtually disappeared from India, with the great teachers fleeing
to Tibet, where Indian Buddhism found a home. In addition to forced conversion,
the Muslims used a very successful technique of heavily taxing peoples who
refused to convert, all of which makes the Muslim "tolerance" not so
believable in the end.

EXCLUSIVISM IN ÆLLINISMÓS

While there are indeed some examples
of exclusivity in Ællinismόs, they are exceptions, not the rule, and the
religion itself condemns it, and even the examples must be examined in context
to understand why they occurred.

The Decree of Diopeithis

According to Ploutarkhos (Plutarch;
Gr. Πλούταρχος), during the reign of Pæriklís (Pericles; Gr. Περικλῆς),
there was a law enacted in Athens known as the Decree of Diopeithis
(Diopithes; Gr. Διοπείθης) 430 BCE which forbade foreign cults (religious
practices) in Athens:

"And Diopithes proposed a decree, that public
accusations should be laid against persons who neglected religion, or taught
new doctrines about things above, directing suspicion, by means of Anaxagoras,
against Pericles himself." [2]

It was under this decree that
various of the philósophi (philosophers; Gr. φιλόσοφοι) were indicted and some
put to death, most famously Sohkrátis (Socrates; Gr. Σωκράτης). The real
purpose of this law had everything to do with politics and little with
religion.

The Religious Persecution of Jews
by Antíokhos IV Æpiphanís

Another incident that some hold up
against Ællinismόs is the behavior of the Seleucid king Antíokhos IV Æpiphanís
(Antiochus IV Epiphanes; Gr. Ἀντίοχος Δ΄ ὁ Ἐπιφανής), who sacked Jerusalem and
made the Jewish religion illegal, demanding the worship of Zefs (Zeus;
Gr. Ζεύς), all this somewhere around 160 BCE. These were the actions of
this particular ruler, not the responsibility or requirement of our religion,
and the incident itself is notable more because of its exceptional character,
rather than being typical. As is often said, the Gods live in complete freedom
and they desire this freedom for us as well, so the imposition of a
belief-system on anyone is abhorrent to the Gods.

The Roman Persecution of Christians

Historically, inclusivistic
religions function harmoniously with outside religions, often absorbing
features of the religions they encounter. With the arrival of Christianity, an
exclusive religion which is evangelical, the inclusive religions in the west now
confronted a serious challenge which had never occurred before.

The persecution of Christians began
as a spontaneous reaction by local populaces, first Jewish and eventually
pagan, as the religion spread out of Israel. The Jews did not accept what the
Christians claimed about Jesus, denying that he could be their Messiah, and had
a negative reaction their teaching. The Christians, rejected in their homeland,
began moving out into the empire, evangelizing to the gentiles (non-Jewish
people). Here they were also not well received and the various peoples they
encountered became hostile when the Christians declared that their beloved Gods
were false. The peoples of the empire had never encountered direct intolerance
of religious ideas as such behavior was almost unknown in the ancient world.
And there were other issues, but the original persecutions seemed to be
spontaneous reactions to the Christian doctrine which denied the validity of
all Gods other than their own. Eventually, however, the Roman government got
involved. Initially, these persecutions were not enacted because the
Romans wished to deny the Christians freedom to believe in Jesus or any of
their doctrines; the Romans did not care what the Christians believed. However,
it was the traditional ancient conviction that all citizens
give sacrifice to the Gods for the general good, deities who were thought
to protect the state. Therefore, Christians were required to offer sacrifice to
the Gods, not to give up their religion. This requirement was not possible,
however, for a believing Christian, one who denied the existence of all Gods
but their own one God. Therefore, many Christians were put to death for
refusing to sacrifice. The persecution was not systematic
until Trajan Decius (ruled 249-251 CE) enacted laws which persisted from
250-251 CE. The emperor Valerian (ruled 253-260 CE) issued another similar
edict which lasted from 258-260, but he was captured in battle by the Sassanid
king, Shapur I, who henceforth used the emperor as a living footstool to mount
his horse, ending the edict. The most notorious systematic attack on
Christians by the Roman empire were a series of four edicts which comprised
what is known as the Great Persecution, primarily
under Diocletian (ruled 284-305 CE), beginning in 303. Diocletian
seemed to view the new religion as a pestilence and tried to destroy it before
it spread any further. All persecutions of Christians ended in 313 CE
with the Edict of Milan, signed by the emperor Constantine I (ruled
306-337) and his co-emperor Licinius I (ruled 308-324).

Exclusivism in the Mystery Cults

There is a type of exclusivism which
is characteristic of the Mystíria (Mysteria or Musteria; Gr. Μυστήρια).
These are the practices and tutelage related to the teachings of Orphéfs (Orpheus;
Gr. Ὀρφεύς), the most famous example being the Ælefsínia Mystíria (Eleusinian
Mysteries; Gr. Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια). The Mystery cults were conducted in
complete secrecy and those who were not initiated were excluded from
any knowledge of what occurred within the circle of those who were. It is in
this sense only that the Mystíria were exclusivistic. These cults did not
claim to have exclusive access to the truth, but only those deemed appropriate
were admitted and they did not condemn those outside of the circle of
initiates. Therefore, although this is a kind of exclusivity, it is of a
different nature than what has been discussed previously.

INCLUSIVISM, SYNCRETISM,
AND ÆLLINISMÓS

Inclusivism in ancient religion

Exclusivism is a way of
characterizing types of religion. Exclusivism is in direct contrast to
religions which are called inclusive. To give the reader a flavor
of what inclusive religions are like, consider this quotation from the scholar
W.K.C. Guthrie:

"To us the differences between the worship of Olympian
Zeus and the mysteries of Demeter may seem as great as those between any two
religions of more modern times. Yet not only did they never lead to wars or
persecutions, but it was perfectly possible for the same man to be a devout
participant in both. More than this, Kore daughter of Demeter, in whose honour
as well as her mother's the mysteries were held, had Zeus himself for father,
and Zeus could be addressed as Chthonios (ed. of the earth, earthy) as well as
Olympios (ed. implying an idea of in the heavens). A totally different God in
reality, you may say." [3]

One can surmise from this paragraph
that we are talking about a very different approach. Obviously, all religious
people view their own religion as superior, otherwise, why would they practice
it. They believe their own religion is superior for themselves, but
inclusivistic religions are generally tolerant of other religious traditions. Exclusivistic
religions, on the other hand, tend to be highly intolerant of other religious
traditions. Inclusive religions acknowledge that truth can be found in other
religions and philosophies, and that perhaps another religion may even be more
appropriate for those who practice it.

Polytheistic religions are generally
not exclusivistic, by definition, because worshiping one God does not exclude
the worship of other Gods; therefore, polytheism is inclusive of all deity and
is generally tolerant. Religions such as Hinduism and Ællinismόs (Hellenismos;
Gr. Ἑλληνισμός), the ancient Greek religion, and the Egyptian religion of
antiquity, are inclusivistic traditions, and there is no history of religious
wars between these traditions. From the perspective of Ællinismόs, exclusivism
is a type of hubris, false pride or insolence, which implies a type of
knowledge impossible for mortal beings to possess.

Syncretism in Ællinismόs

There are numerous examples from
antiquity of the tolerance of Ællinismόs expressed as syncretism, as, for
instance, the belief of Iródotos (Herodotus; Gr. Ἡρόδοτος) the historian, that
the Egyptian Gods are the same as ours, but known by different names. [4]

Another example comes from
Ploutarkhos in his book Pærí Ísidos kai Osíridos (Isis and
Osiris; Gr. Περὶ Ἴσιδος καὶ Ὀσίριδος) in which the author beautifully
demonstrates the sameness of the Greek and Egyptian religious traditions.

The philosophers also quote
the Khaldaian Oracles (Chaldean Oracles; Gr. Χαλδαϊκός
Χρησμός), the content of which was believed to have been derived from
Babylonian religion. They incorporate Zoroastrian religious ideas into
their philosophy.

Criticism of syncretism

Syncretism (interpretatio graeca) is evidence of inclusivism,
not exclusivism, the contrary opinion being a rather convoluted way of seeing
something which is very obvious. The argument which criticizes syncretism,
the argument which calls it exclusivism, goes something like this:
equating Gods from another religion with those of one's own, is simply a confirmation
of the superiority of one's own religion. But this argument twists logic and is
absurd because syncretism is inclusive of "foreign"
Gods, not excluding them. With all due respect, this argument
against syncretism seems to express the guilty conscience of exclusive
religions for the fault of their own belief system, not ours, or perhaps, an
effort of those who have a grudge against religion to find a way to find fault
with all religions, for if syncretism is not evidence of
inclusivity and tolerance, what would be the qualification for a religion to not be
exclusive? From this point of view, all religions are
exclusive, and this is simply a deliberate falsehood.

Syncretism and the Names of the Gods

Ællinismόs is inclusive of all true
deity. It is said that in very ancient times there were no names for the Gods,
or rather, that their names were not known to mortals. In a later period,
perhaps around the time of Isíodos (Hesiod; Gr. Ἡσίοδος), the priests gave
them names. It is also said that the names we use to designate the various
divinities are not the same names which they use to call themselves. This
is sometimes called várvari onómata (barbare onomata; Gr.
βάρβαρη ονόματα), the barbarous or foreign names of the Gods; they are unknown
or foreign to us and are only known to the Gods themselves. As Plátohn
(Plato; Gr. Πλάτων) says in the Kratýlos (Cratylus;
Gr. Κρατύλος):

"Yes, indeed, Hermogenes; and there is one excellent
principle which, as men of sense, we must acknowledge, --- that of the Gods we
know nothing, either of their natures or of the names which they give
themselves; but we are sure that the names by which they call themselves,
whatever they may be, are true. And this is the best of all principles; and the
next best is to say, as in prayers, that we will call them by any sort or kind
of names or patronymics which they like, because we do not know of any other.
That also, I think, is a very good custom, and one which I should much wish to
observe. Let us, then, if you please, in the first place announce to them that
we are not enquiring about them; we do not presume that we are able to do so;
but we are enquiring about the meaning of men in giving them these names, ---
in this there can be small blame." [5]

Now if deities in our religion have
Kozmic functions, such as dominion over Natural Laws...and they do have
such dominion...and if the deities of other religions hold the same functions,
it is naturally plausible that their deities are the same as ours, but are
known by other names, names which mortals have given them, but not necessarily
the names by which the Gods themselves know each other. This type of thinking
is tolerant and inclusive and is in the spirit of the deeper understandings of
the teachings of Ællinismόs. Our religion has its pantheon, we do things
in particular ways, we have our customs, but we are capable of vast thinking, and
this thinking requires logic, openness, and tolerance, qualities which are some
of our highest virtues. Therefore, we do not necessarily see Ællinismόs as
superior to, for instance, Hinduism; rather, we perceive the worship of Gods as
having variety which expresses the natural beauty of different cultures, and
can perceive a 'sameness' in various religions.

"Nor do we think of the Gods as different Gods among
different peoples, nor as barbarian Gods and Greek Gods, nor as southern and
northern Gods; but, just as the sun and the moon and the heavens and the earth
and the sea are common to all, but are called by different names by different
peoples, so for that one rationality which keeps all these things in order and
the one Providence which watches over them and the ancillary powers that are
set over all, there have arisen among different peoples, in accordance with
their customs, different honours and appellations." [6]

[1] This word ἀνάθεμα originally meant "votive offering," a gift for a
God. Such items were separated out as sacred and were not to be used for
profane purposes. These offerings were often burnt on the altar, and, hence,
destroyed. In the Christian era, the word came to denote something cursed by
God, since votive offerings were set up for the pagan Gods and the Christians
declared them to be false, or worse still, to be evil spirits, and thus the ἀνάθεμα became something devoted to
evil. As the term acquired this new definition, some of the original meaning of
the word took on a new significance; since votive offerings were eventually
destroyed, the one who was declared to be anathema, was viewed as a destroyed
soul, hated by God.

[3] Orpheus and Greek
Religion by W. K. C. Guthrie, 1935. We are using the 1993 reprint by
Princeton Univ. Press (Princeton, NJ USA), where this quotation may be found on
p. 7.

[4] Iródotos Istoría (Histories;
Gr. Ἱστορία): See Book 2 Eftǽrpi (Euterpe;
Gr. Eὐτέρπη) in which Iródotos describes the religion of the
Egyptians.

[5] Plátohn (Plato;
Gr. Πλάτων) Kratýlos (Cratylus; Gr. Κρατύλος)
400d-401a, trans. Benjamin Jowett, 1892. We are using
the 1937 reprint entitled The Dialogues of Plato Vol. 1
published by Random House (New York, USA), where this quotation may be found on
p. 190.

The logo to the left is the principal symbol of this website. It is called the CESS logo, i.e. the Children of the Earth and the Starry Sky. The Pætilía (Petelia; Gr. Πετηλία) and other golden tablets having this phrase are the inspiration for the symbol. The image represents this idea: Earth (divisible substance) and the Sky (continuous substance) are the two kosmogonic substances. The twelve stars represent the Natural Laws, the dominions of the Olympian Gods. In front of these symbols is the seven-stringed kithára (cithara; Gr. κιθάρα), the lyre of Apóllohn(Apollo; Gr. Ἀπόλλων). It (here) represents the bond between Gods and mortals and is representative that we are the children of Orphéfs (Orpheus; Gr. Ὀρφεύς).

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